The Meadow Lake Mustangs are gearing up for playoff action.

By Martin Martinson

Mustangs charge into playoffs

Meadow Lake Mustangs set for tough test in Wildcats

Mar 22, 2019 | 4:54 PM

The Meadow Lake Mustangs kick off their playoff semifinals with the Hinton Wildcats at the Murray Rec Centre in Hinton tonight at 8 p.m.

A best of three series, all three games will be played in Hinton, as the Wildcats were the higher seed at season’s end.

Judging solely based on record, the Wildcats look to be a heavy favorite heading into the series, as the team finished second overall this year with a 23-19-3 record through the 45-game regular season. The Mustangs on the other hand, finished third at 14-30-1.

However, the season-series between the two sides of late, suggests the outcome of the team’s postseason showdown may be more up in the air than first thought.

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The Mustangs won three of their final four games of the regular season, including a 6-2 win over Hinton March 8.

In fact, after the Wildcats took the first seven games of the season-series, the Mustangs have since answered back down the stretch drive, defeating Hinton three of the final five matchups between the two teams.

Forward Shane Hounsell led the Mustangs in scoring this season with 33 goals and 69 points in just 32 games played.

Mid-season acquires, Andrew Hawes and Tobie Opikoke have added further scoring punch to the top six forward group, adding much needed offensive support up front for the team down the stretch run of the year.

Hawes, a 19-year-old Kindersley product, had played his last two-and-a-half seasons with the Tisdale Trojans of the SMHL prior to joining the team for the final 15 games of the schedule, where he put up 18 goals and 27 points over the stretch.

Opikoke, a fellow 19-year-old from Canoe Lake, First Nation, has 12 goals, 24 points in 14 games with the team.

The Mustangs will need every bit of firepower they can muster against a Hinton club with some dynamic offensive punch in their own right.

Wildcats’ forward, Brendan Auger amassed an eye-popping 32 goals, 72 points in just 40 games played this season, while Dimitri Buttazzoni hit the 30-goal plateau as well, en route to racking up 66 points in 43 games.

The Auger, Buttazzoni tandem will be a big test in particular for whoever gets the nod between the pipes for the Mustangs on opening night of the playoffs.

It was nearly a 50/50 split in the crease this season between 20-year-old Scott Danyluk and 18-year-old Noah Finlay.

Finlay held the slight advantage, playing in 29 games, to Danyluk’s 27, while the two’s stats paint a nearly identical image as well.

Finlay’s 2.89 goals-against average and .870 save percentage were just a hair back of Danyluk’s 3.07 goals-against average and .873 save percentage, while Finlay appeared in two more games played.

At the other end of the ice, there is also question surrounding who will get the start for Hinton in game one.

Eighteen-year-old, Samuel Gendron was a workhorse for the team this season, appearing in 39 games for the club, while posting an .885 save percentage in the process.

Despite his consistency between the pipes, however, 19-year-old netminder, Avery Heath, who joined the Wildcats late in the season has been lights out for the team since his arrival, and may have likely stolen the starting job straight away.

Heath has allowed just 13 goals in 14 games with the Cats, posting a sparkling .927 save percentage in the process.

Puck drop on tonight’s action goes at 8 p.m. at the Murray Rec Centre in Hinton.

Mustangs and Wildcats playoff schedule:

GAME 1 Friday, March 22 8:00 p.m.
GAME 2 Saturday, March 23 7:30 p.m.
GAME 3 Sunday, March 24 4:30 p.m. (if necessary)

*All games take place at the Murray Rec Center in Hinton

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Martin.Martinson.jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1